The Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum is probably “one of the premier bike museums in the country in terms of the quality and provenance of the exhibits.”

I wouldn’t know, I didn’t go in. I was very happy looking at the array of cute animals in the car park, and the birds as you walked into the compound. I was even happier when I turned right and found some of the most amazing cakes I’ve ever seen.

The outside tables were full of half eaten cake; it was a cake graveyard, so upsetting. Being a cake lover, I didn’t understand why there were so much wasted cake. Until I spent 10 minutes choosing my cake, 20 minutes attempting to eat it all, only to fail and put the rest in my tank bag, covered up in a takeout box.

If anyone wants to know what the museum is like, you’re going to have to ask someone else. I honestly have no idea.

Now the important part is down, let me get onto some of the details of the Steve Harris, Sammy Miller B run. We met up at Blackbushe airport, and had a pit stop at Little Nellie’s Diner in Kingsclere to collect a few more. With a total of 15 riders we headed for the New Forest via the twisty route. It was my first time through the New Forest; I didn’t expect to have to stop to allow cows to cross the road.

Anyway, we headed for our lunch stop, The Cliffhanger Café in Christchurch. The food was amazing. I would highly recommend their mussels. The view was stunning and the roads were fantastic.

Once we were fuelled with food we actually headed for the museum, or for me – dessert. The boys and girls got to play with old bikes, whilst I had cake and a nap.

The ride back to Reading had much more pace to it, albeit still stunning roads. The ride was respectful to others abilities and it was a pleasure to ride with everyone. I would definitely go there again –the cake was that good.

Oh, if anyone is wondering what happened to the rest of the cake, it thankfully survived the journey home and was very much enjoyed the next day.

Paula Nash

First published in Slipstream June 2019